To find out why companies and organizations participate in the NAFB Trade Talk I asked a few of them as things were winding down. Included are comments from Monsanto, EPIC, New Holland, FMC and Dairy Farmers of America.
I pieced together an audio clip of their answers to the question, “Why do you participate in Trade Talk?”
Listen to their response here: nafb-07-trade-talk.mp3
You can also download the interview here: 
Trade Talk Participants (3 min MP3)
One of the presenters at the NAMA Agribusiness Forum was Mary Rosenthal and the agriblogging folks at Paulsen AgriBranding have produced another interview for us:
“Creating a Supply Chain for a ‘New to the World’ Food Packaging Material”
Mary Rosenthal, NatureWorks LLC
Mary Rosenthal presented a case study of supply chain education to bring NatureWorks Polymer to market in North America and around the world.
The Trade Talk Lunch was very good today as usual. It’s a nice working lunch buffet with no program/speakers because many of us use the opportunity for a quick bite and then back to the interviews.
One of the things I liked this year was the fact that we could grab a quick fresh-carved roast beef sandwich in the Trade Talk ballroom even before heading down the escalator to lunch.
Speaking of beef, we have to thank the Cattlemen’s Beef Board for making sure we had some nutritious product on hand.
The National Corn Growers Association is one of the Trade Talk exhibitors and a NAFB convention sponsor. Last night at our opening reception they were all “ears.”
During Trade Talk I had a chance to conduct a series of video interviews which we’ll be using on their Corn Commentary website. This new media world means that we have multiple options of what and how we use content like interviews and images. For those of you who wonder what happens with all the interviews we do here this would be one example.
I’ve already been asked what’s been taking me so long to get my AgriTalk picture on AgWired. Well here it is.
Like a lot of us Mike and John are set up in the BASF-sponsored Broadcast Service Center. We’ve got some of the fastest internet access I’ve used in a while which is making uploading pictures and other files a joy.
Right now we’ve got a lot of that NAFB fellowship going on in here. This is where the serious work takes place though.
If you’re a new member of an organization you rarely get a chance to get oriented to things like who’s who and what’s what. Here at the NAFB convention you get your opportunity right away at the new member orientation breakfast.
It’s a great chance to interact with some “old timers” and have a full meal deal breakfast too.
If you’ve never attended an NAFB Convention and experienced Trade Talk then you haven’t seen a whole lot of interviewing going on simultaneously. It’s an interview marathon going on here in Kansas City. To see what it’s like I did a short walk through video:
Here is a whole bunch of video from the NAMA Agribusiness Forum thanks to the agriblogging folks at Paulsen AgriBranding. Let’s hear from the award winners!
NAMA Professional Development Awards of Excellence
Each year, NAMA honors members with hands-on responsibility in marketing communications, public relations, product/species management and sales.
Here are the winner’s thoughts on the challenges and opportunities in agri-marketing.
Peter Kovac, Nicholson Kovac
Marketing Communications Winner
Greg Smith, Padilla Speer Beardsley
Public Relations Winner
Klaas Okkinga, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.
Product/Species Management Winner
Bill Heffron, Recently Retired from Bock & Associates
Sales Winner
Large, professional operations, that’s what Case IH focuses on in Western Europe. So, it’s fitting that Case IH is introducing the largest tractor to ever hit the European Market at the farm machinery event in Europe, Agritechnica 2007. The new MAGNUM 335 delivers up to 368 hp with 1,900 rev/min. Case IH also claims the MAGNUM 335 delivers the highest torque of any standard tractor in the world.
Sylvan Blaise, the Marketing Director in Europe for Case IH, says Germany, France and Austria are the biggest markets in Western Europe for the MAGNUM 335 and other high horse power tractors and Agritechnica is an optimal place to introduce the entire redesigned line of MAGNUM tractors. Sylvan says emerging markets for these tractors and the other products Case IH offers are concentrated in central Europe.
Precision farming and autoguidance are also big selling technologies in Europe for Case IH. Sylvan says there is a heavy demand for more integration of precision farming and autoguidance as farmers look to productivity.
Sylvan says the demand for automatic technology, such as the stepless transmission system, is greater in Europe and is, therefore, much more developed. But, he says the North American market is more advanced in precision agriculture and technology. He adds that while Case IH offers a full line of Equipment in North America, the company focuses on tractors, combines and balers for the European market.
You can listen to my interview with Sylvan here:
caseih.mp3
New Holland Communications Manager, Klaus Senghaas like to think their exhibit is the major player in Hall 3 of Agritechnica 2007. The three medals New Holland has secured this year suggest that just might be the case. With 2,000 meters of floor space, New Holland has a handful of tractors and 4 combines on display. The German Agriculture Society, or the DLG, has awarded New Holland with a gold medal for its new Grain Cam feature on the CR series combines. The Grain Cam is a sensor mounted to the side of the gain elevator that uses image analysis to measure what goes into the grain tank. The DLG also awarded the CR series combines with two silver medals for its Opti-Clean cleaning system and it’s IntelliCruise system.
Silvia Ortiz, the PR Manager for New Holland, says the New Holland exhibit also stands out at Agritechnica 2007 because the company offers what dealers and farmers are looking for. She says unlike the North American market where consumer demand is greater for equipment with high-end productivity, the European market demands more variety and maneuverability with specialty equipment like vinyard tractors and orchard tractors.
You can listen to my interview with Klaus and Silvia:
newholland.mp3
